The Thief's Strumpet
by EmilyTheRose
Summary: Time is a concept contrived by humanity to make order out of the natural chaos. Few are privy to this knowledge and fewer are able to put it to use. Yet, Serena stumbles into a world where time is mailable, pirates reign, and home takes on a new meaning.


This is something I've been working on for a while, an idea floating around in my head. Hopefully, after the intense editing I've done, you can enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

I don't own Sailor Moon.

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The Thief's Strumpet

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Serena studied the curves of the bow and stern while taking in the sheer size of the ship. It was strange to see a ship in the middle of a building when she'd always imagined them in the open sea, skull and crossbone flag flapping in the wind. Of course, she also imagined muscled, shirtless pirates hoisting the anchor and doing…other pirate activities. What was it pirates did when they weren't plundering anyway?

"Keep together now," Miss Haruna commanded, waving her arms widly, trying to organize her students unsuccessfully. No one knew why she expected a group of rowdy teenagers taken out of a classroom setting to behave. Some theorized she was an alien sent to brainwash them with history trivia. (Melvin.) Others just thought she was an average teacher out to get students who were morally opposed to studying, so they attempted to make otherwise enjoyable activities excruciating. (Serena.)

"Can anyone tell me where exactly we are?" the alien or average teacher in question asked, a hint of weariness already in her voice. That didn't bode well for the rest of the trip.

"A museum!" one student yelled. The smug grin was quickly replaced with a terrified grimace as soon as Miss Haruna caught his eye.

"Next to a huge ship!" another student declared proudly, vastly unaware of their own stupidity.

"The Thief's Strumpet?" one abnormally high pitch voice called out timidly, well hidden by the crowd, just as Miss Haruna was starting to get that wrinkle in her forehead that meant they were about to regret being born or, at least, that they weren't born into a family that could afford private school. Or, at the very least, regret not being held back a grade. Serena was almost positive that seven out of ten students were silently thanking that unknown voice that had bravely called out the answer. The other three were the guys too dense to notice Miss Haruna turning red and clenching her fists, as if she hoped physical violence would become acceptable as a method for punishing students over the course of the day.

"Exactly. Can anyone tell me the significance?" No one seemed to want to answer that. "Well, the Thief's Strumpet is a pirate ship that was recently recovered from the ocean floor. We believe that its voyage started in the Caribbean…"

There was a short pause as she gave all the possible smart aleks a preemptive glare. None of them dared to make a peep. It was strange how scary such a petite brunette could be when she put her mind to it. Serena made a note of it and vowed to try the glare on Melvin. It was nice to know she was learning on the field trip.

"And then the ship ended up in our waters. Of course, no one knows exactly how, but scientists have theorized-"

"Miss Haruna?" one brave soul dared to interrupt.

"Yes?"

"Can we just go look around the ship?"

After heaving a large sigh, Miss Haruna gave a quick nod and cornered an unlucky girl so that at least one person would receive the benefit of her carefully rehearsed speech. Maybe they would even learn something. Serena felt brief pity for her comrade but not nearly enough to provide a daring rescue. It wasn't extremely charitable of her, but Miss Haruna was still a bit less than pleased about her less than timely arrival. It wasn't her fault that her alarm had a snooze button that may have been a placed a bit too close to her bed or that the alarm was set by her mother for an unseemly hour. Why couldn't the day just start at noon?

While her classmates clomped up to the deck, pushing and shoving to get a better look, something made Serena walk slower, touching the wood carvings imbedded in the railing, memorizing the intricate design, and taking in the texture. Even after a hundred years below the waves, the wood still seemed strong beneath the pads of her fingers. Should her entire class even be able to walk on it without everything deteriorating? It seemed odd that they let people run around on it at all. Shouldn't a ship this old just crumble into a huge pile of sawdust? As her hand gently left the rail, her fingers tingled. A quick shake made the strange sensation go away in her fingertips but it seemed just to have shot up to her arms, pulling its way to her chest. A shudder when down her back and she cradled her hand, ignoring the overwhelming urge to touch the rail again.

"Hey Serena!" one of her friends called, breaking Serena's hold on the strange feeling radiating from the ship and anchoring her back in the present. "Come over here!"

Serena pasted on one of her biggest smiles to hide her uneasiness and ran over to where Molly and a group of her friends were standing. All of them were crowded around a large, weather beaten door. Oddly enough, what made the door stand out was that it was in such poor condition in comparison to the rest of the ship. There were scratch marks and even a dent the size of an average man's foot. There were also some round dents, about two inches around. Serena had no idea what could have made those. Of course, her friends weren't admiring the antiquity or the peculiar dents. Actually, it was odd that _she_ was admiring the antiquity and the dents.

The tingle was growing into a pulse that pounded in her chest, making her hands shake.

"Look," her friend Mary giggled, pointing to a plaque with her non-shaking hand. Serena leaned in, pushing the hair out of her eyes quickly and stuffing her hands under her armpits. The plaque had read "Captain's Quarters" but the "captain" part was crudely scratched out and replaced with a scratched in "strumpet".

"What's so funny about that?" Serena asked, unable to resist running her fingers over the mangled wood. Was it strange that it felt warm? The tingling faded and Serena smiled absentmindedly.

"Don't you know what strumpet means?" Molly asked. Serena could feel herself shaking her head but her mind was in another place, wondering what was behind the door to make it so warm. It was like holding a cup of warm cocoa, an encompassing warm feeling overcoming any discomfort she had previously felt about the ship. The warmth quieted the pounding that had spread into every fiber of her body.

"It means slut," one of her other friends, Rita maybe, giggled while Molly rolled her eyes, having most likely been the person to tell Rita that in the first place. Dating Melvin had given her a bit of complex when it came to knowing random "smart kid" trivia. Obviously he was a bad influence. How two completely incompatible people like that could be a functioning couple was beyond her. It would have almost been romantic…if it was someone other than Melvin. The thought of the crazy looking babies they would have sometimes induced nightmares. Even then the picture of the mutant Melvin minis in her head at that moment was enough to distract her momentarily before the urge to solve the mystery of the warm door overtook her.

"Oh," was all she said out loud after an uncomfortable pause, reaching toward the doorknob. "That's nice."

"Serena!" Molly scolded, pointing to the very large "DO NOT ENTER" sign in glaring bold and red letters hanging by the door, but it was too late. Serena had already flung the door open and the floor seemed to pull out from under her feet. Everything seemed to come apart at the seams, leaving her grasping a useless door that led to nowhere. The noises, the squeals, the yelps, the booming laughs, the whining cries that had all seemed so loud became a dull hum and then faded completely. The trouble was that Serena couldn't bring herself to care that the whole scene was falling away. The silence was wrapped itself around her entire being but it wasn't suffocating. It was as if Serena couldn't feel worried. Nothing but a floating calm. Just an absolute sense of peace.

The sounds of the ocean started to permeate into her bubble and Serena let out a contented sigh just as the tranquility was starting to slip away. The museum. The people. The floor. All of it was gone. Panic seeped in as the waves grew louder, pounding against her skull. The small smile melted into a much more surprised "o" and from there into a deer in the headlights expression, ready to run with nowhere to go.

As a scream was about to rip through, the wooden floorboards suddenly found their way back under her black mary-janes and the brass handle of the door back under her steady hand. It would have made Serena feel considerably better if the ocean noises had gone away. Instead of her own scream, Serena heard a roar echo in the previously abandoned captain's quarters.

"Who. Are. You?" an overly steady voice forced out, word by agonizingly gruff word. The man was a god sent to earth, possibly cursed with a surly disposition judging by his deep grimace, but a god none the less. His eyes were an amazing shade of blue so deep that she felt like she could happily drown in them. The ebony hair only enhanced his eyes which in turn enhanced his strong jaw which enhanced his exposed, chiseled chest which…

Well, he was handsome. And she, without question, noticed.

"Who are you?" he forced out again, looking her over almost like she had been, only without nearly as must lust in his eyes as she was sure had been in hers. Actually, the way his eyebrows were tilted and the way his forehead was wrinkled, he looked a bit livid. A dark angel. The thought sent a deep shiver up her spine.

"Some stow away strumpet? Which man brought you aboard?" Stopping her gawking for a brief moment, Serena remembered to feel indignant.

"Hey! That means slut!" Her tiny fists clenched and she would have pointed an accusatory finger at the man but that seemed unwise given the size of his arm muscles. Instead she decided to give her best effort at the Miss Haruna glare. The unnamed, and admittedly slightly rude, god-like angel raised an eyebrow. Serena felt mildly disappointed that her glare was so sub-par.

"And what would you call a young lady in a daringly short skirt and such an…attention grabbing hairstyle?" the man asked, looking her up and down his eyes resting on the modest blue skirt of her uniform and again on her sweet, innocent buns with the pigtails that trailed to her ankles.

"I wouldn't call her a…a…trum…stept," she stuttered, aware that she had completely forgotten the word already. As her cheeks started to catch fire, Serena decided to blame her forgetfulness on the fact that he wasn't wearing his shirt totally buttoned and it exposed quite of bit of his perfectly tanned, chiseled chest. It was a weapon of massive distraction. Despite her jumbled thoughts, Serena continued her tirade.

"Well, I'm not a slut either way. What an awful thing to assume. I should report you to security," she huffed, crossing her arms and hiding her useless clenched fists that she couldn't seem to get unclenched. It occurred to her that her hands were being less than obedient lately. They also seemed to want to undo the few buttons that needed undone on his wrinkled, barely white shirt.

"What are you talking about?" he asked, hand on the cutlass at his side. It was a bit funny how she hadn't noticed his hands while being so distracted by her own. It was also a bit depressing to think that if her kidnapper was cute enough, Serena would fail to notice the little things like guns or swords. Why did he make her feel safe when he was obviously a deranged maniac with a sword, playing pirate in a museum? Throughout this thought process the possible maniac was looking at Serena like she was the crazy one with the weapon attached to their pants. She quickly reassembled their conversation and put herself back on the right train of thought.

"I'm talking about the museum security. I don't think they usually allow big swords here. How did you get that by the metal detector?" Playing twenty questions with the cute maniac was probably a bad idea. Shouldn't Molly have come in after her? Friends don't let friends wander into doors that say "DO NOT ENTER" and then not follow.

"Miss, I'm not sure who you are but I would rather not have a raving lunatic on my ship. So, why are you on my ship and, furthermore, why are you in my quarters?" he asked as Serena's head spun, taking the room with it. The ocean noises. Why were there still ocean noises? There was no way. The ship wasn't seaworthy. It was sitting in a museum, safe and sound where it would never plunder another village ever again.

"Are we…on the…ocean?" the blonde squeaked, chipped, pink nails digging into her palm. The man gave a slow nod, staring her in the eye as if he expected her to throw herself out a window. Maybe she would. It seemed like a logical solution. "I…have to go."

Turning on her heel, Serena burst through the door and gasped. Thirty very pirate-like men were doing the pirate activities she had been fantasizing about before. Now that she remembered back this morning, first she realized that "this morning" had only been a few minutes ago and then recalled she had only imagined one pirate activity. If this was all in her head, how did her brain know to make such an elaborate fantasy? A few very pirate like men, who did not look like any of the students or museum police that had been on the deck before, turned in her direction and that's when the lost girl realized she was still quietly denying the whole mess out loud, mumbling, "No no no, there's no way. No."

"Who are you?" the man asked again with a little more concern as he grasped her shoulder from behind. She should have been more startled but the shock of being in the middle of the sea on a pirate ship blocked out any other feelings. It was as if her body couldn't pile on any more panic or it would explode.

"Very…lost," she managed, her breathing becoming a bit steadier with every inhale and exhale. "I don't belong here." Stating the obvious, but it was comforting to say it out loud. A whistle that she might hear passing a construction yard came from across the ship and Serena still had the presence of mind to blush.

"Captain! I thought you told us no girlies? I found a nice gal in Tahiti and here you go picking one up." The crude man wiggled his eyebrow and the extremely underage girl threw up in her mouth a little, only partially due to seasickness.

"Quiet down or you'll have bird's nest duty for a year, Godwin," the man behind her bellowed before pulling gently on her shoulder. The urge to heave herself over the side of the ship subsided a little more and her shoulder tingled. Yes, Serena decided, the panic had finally driven her insane. The logical explanation was that her brain had subconsciously stored up information about pirates from movies and comics to form an elaborate hallucination. Of course, her brain had to be congratulated. The detail was superb.

"Come in here miss." The man led her back into the room and shut the door. "Now, tell me who exactly you are and when exactly you come from."

"When?"

"What year?" he asked slowly, tapping his fingers on his desk.

"Two thousand-"

"Two thousand?" he gasped immediately, seeming slightly staggered. "Good gods. So far."

"What do you mean?" she asked desperately, tears starting to form on the edge of her eyes. It was odd this was a secondary response to all of this. If tripping induced tears, why didn't being transported onto a pirate ship in the middle of the ocean?

"Listen to me closely," he said, crouching down so that she had to look down into his eyes. Serena lowered herself into the chair by the desk. It was an awfully nice desk, she thought, automatically trying to find some distraction. It was like being in math. This was just another algebra problem she couldn't quite grasp. Just another time when looking out the window provided an escape. Except this time, the window was just a reminder of how very lost she was. The blue looked liked it went on forever, reaching far beyond the horizon and on towards heaven itself.

"Miss-"

"Serena. My name is Serena." Saying her name put her back into a more focused frame of mind. Well mostly, she realized as her hands started to run through her pigtail over and over.

"Serena, I'm Mamoru Chiba and I'm captain of this vessel. You seem to have caught on to the coattails of our…time warp, if you will. Do you understand?" The girl thought for a moment and shook her head violently, her pigtails knocking over a trinket or two. "You've traveled back in time," Mamoru said slowly. Always so slowly. As if that would make it any less confusing.

"…so I've just gone crazy, right?" she sighed, resigned to spend the rest of her days in a white plushy room. It wouldn't be so bad if all her delusions had this Mamoru guy in them. It might even be rather pleasant. Serena imagined herself in a straight jacket, introducing this imaginary man to her parents. Maybe her next fantasy would have them get married. Hopefully on land.

"Not if we're just referring to this, no." He stood back up and analyzed her again. "The problem is that I have no idea how exactly to get you back. To think that the goddess could have accidently sent you…"

"I'm…in the past?" she asked, digging her fingernails into her palm again, giving her hair a break from her incessant finger combing. If she wasn't careful, she was fairly sure she would draw blood and having an open wound would probably be bad on a pirate ship. Did they even have Band-Aids?

"If you want to simplify it to that level, yes," he sighed, tapping his fingers again on the mahogany desk. Miss Haruna. He sounded exactly like Miss Haruna when he was exasperated. That was a terrifying thought. It would definitely make their marriage a bit more difficult later on.

"You know, I'm getting a little tired of you calling me dumb and a slut," Serena blurted, rubbing away leftover tears. "I just got shoved onto a pirate ship full of men with no shirts and I'm the slut? Really? What happened to the buttons on your shirt? You're the tumspret!"

Much to her surprise, the captain started to laugh. The sound sent a shiver up her spine and sent a rush of warmth into her cheeks. "How about we get you some normal clothes so that confusion can be avoided in the future?"

"Normal…?" she asked, taking her turn to raise an eyebrow and looking down at her more than average school uniform.

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Chapter two up shortly if time allows.


End file.
